Mouthpiece for saliva-ejecting apparatus.



W. P. DE WITT.

MOUTHPIECE FOR SALIVA EJECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION HLED 0CT.8. I912. 1,1553 Patented 00t.5,1915.

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" ure 1 is a side elevation of the improved N ED Es Parana orricn.

WILLI r. nn WITT, or soMnnvILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

MouTHriEcn FOB sALIvA-nJncTING APPARATUS.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM P. DE lVrrr, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Mouthpieces for Saliva-Ejecting Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable. others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same. I I

The present invention relatesto saliva ejecting apparatus-for use in dental work, and more particularly to a mouth piece for the same. j

The object of the present invention is to provide a mouth piece for saliva ejecting apparatus which shall be simple in construe.- tion eiiicient in operation to drain both the lingual and the buccal portions of the mouth simultaneously, and which shall not interfere with either the vision or the manipulations of the operator. 7

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mouth piece of the above character which may be adjusted for use in either the right or left portion of the mouth as desired. I

Further objects of the present invention are to providea mouth piece for saliva ejecting apparatus withmeans for firmly securing the same'in position without discomfort to the user or liability of accidental displacement, and also with means for depressing orretracting the lower lip,

lVith these and other objects in view ap parent to those skilled in the art, the present invention consists in the devices and combinations of devices hereinafter de scribed and more particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate what is now considered the re ferred form of the present invention, Fig

mouth piece; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, showing in broken lines the position of certain parts reversed for use upon the opposite side of the mouth from that on which the parts as shown in full lines are designed'to be used; Fig; 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional detail on. line a:ai, Fig. 1, of the pivotal connection of the clamping member; and Fig. 4; is a front elevation of the -same; and Fig.5 is a ver- Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

' Application filed October 8, 1912. Serial No. 724,672.

tical sectional detail showing the method of adjustingandsecuring the contact piece 'upon the clampingclever.

The mouth piece illustrated in the drawings comprises an eduction tube 1 having at its lower end 2 provision for connection to the usual hose or tube through which the saliva is drawn and discharged by some suitable suction device. The upper end of the eduction tube is curved to extend over the teeth of the lower jaw of the user, and

to'its downwardly turned end 3 is connected a suction tube which consists of the two downwardly bent members 4 and-5 adapted to be positioned upon opposite sides of the teeth so that one drains the lingual'and the other the buccal portion of the mouth,

through saliva intake openings 6 located ad- It has been found that if asingle eduction tube is to be employed connected to only one of the downwardly bent members through which not only the saliva en teringits intake opening but also that en tering the intake opening of the other member is exhausted, then the intake opening in the member connected to the eduction tube must be of less area (preferably about onehalf), than the cross-sectional area of the suction tube, for otherwise there will be in- SlIlTlClGIlt "suction in theother member to render it operative. This feature of single edu'ction tube and transverse connecting member at the rear of the suction tube is of importance, since it avoids the interference with visionand manipulations of, and the inconvenience to, the operator by the multiplicit'y of eduction and connection tubes at the frontof the mouth, as in the devices of the prior art. Preferably, the eduction tube is offsetwith relation to the suction tube, as shown in Fig. 2, so that if the suction tube be located in the mouth with the member at draining thelingual portion and the member 5 the buccal pmio the eduction tube '1 will be located at substantiallythe extreme side of the mouth opposite to'that on which the suction tube is located, thus avoiding all possibility of interference with or inconvenience to the operator by the eduction tube. I

"In the preferred construction as illus-' trated in the drawings, the mouth piece is adapted for useupon either side of the mouth, the eduction tube andjthe suction tube being madeasseparate partsfhaving provision for connecting the front end of either of the ldownw ardly bent members to the eduction tube- A convenient form of connection is shownin the drawings, in

whichthe down-turned end 3 ofthe eduction tube is formed with a tapered socket and the members and 5. are formed with disconnected from the eduction tube and the member .5 connected, the suction tube'then being brought into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. V

In order'to-prevent the tapered end of a downwardly bent member from turning in the tapered socket in the eduction tube, the latter is provided with a slot or recess 9 adapted to receive a pin 10 secured in the end of each of the members.

It will be observed'that in this preferred construction having provision for the revers ing, as it were, of the suction tube, the intake openings 6 should be of'equal area in both members, and less than that of the crosssectional area of the suction tube. Further- V' more, it has been found that with these intake openings properly proportioned, both members of the'suction tube are properly operative, notwithstanding the open end of the member unconnected with the eduction tube.

position by thewing clamping nut 14/ In order to hold the lever securely'in proper 7 position without requiringthe application of excessive force to the wing nut, the engagmg faces ofthe plate or boss 15 on the 7 tube 1 and of the end 16 of the-clamping lever- 12 are beveled or wedge-shaped, as shown'in 'Figs. '3 and 4, the bevels being so arranged that any downward movement of they contact piece 11 tends to bring the V thicker portionsof'the end-l6 opposite the farther from the ejector tube 1, the outer end of" the clamping lever 12 is provided 'witha slot 17 through which passes the clamping screw 18 rigidly secured to the.

contact piece 11, a wing nut 19 holding the parts in their adjusted position. The angular adjustment of the contact piece 11, it will be noted, is required not only to provide for peculiarities in shape or contour of the jaw of different users, but also to permit the use of the mouth piece upon eithersideof the ;mouth.

When operating upon the teeth at or near the front of the mouth, a lip depressor will be found of great convenience to retract or depress the lower lip. Such a device is shown at 20, in Figs. 1 and 2, and comprises a curved rod provided at one end with a split hub '21 encircling-the eduction tube 1 and provided with a clamping screw 22 and a wing nut 23. To permit use of the device upon the opposite side of the mouth, the depressor, after first loosening the. wing nut 22 and disconnecting the'suction tube, may be slippedofi' the end of. the eduction tube and then replaced in reversed position- The mode of operation of the improved mouth piece is as follows: The proper clownwardly bent member of the suction tube having been connected with the eduction tube according to the side of themouth upon which the mouth piece is to be located, and the lip depressor, if to be used, correspondingly adjusted, the mouth piece is thlen placed in the mouth with the two downwardly bent members on opposite sides of the teeth. The contact piece is then adjusted beneath the'jaw of theuser, and the wing nut 14 tightened. The lip depressor is then adjusted to the desired position. a

So long as suction is applied to the eductiontube saliva will be drawn from both the buccal and the lingual portions of the mouth'as fast as it accumulates, the deflectors 8 at the same time keeping'the tongue and cheek away from the teeth and avoiding the moi stening of any work being performed. Having thus described the present inven-' which may be tion and shown'the preferred embodiment a thereof, what is claimed is:

1. A mouth-piece for saliva ejecting apparatus comprising asuction tube having two members, one adapted to drain the lingual, and the other the buccal portion of the mouth and connected at their rear ends, and each provided with a saliva intake opening, one end of the suction tube being free, and a single eduction tube extending from the other end of the suction tube, substantially as described.

2. A mouth piece for saliva ejecting apparatus comprising a suction tube having two members, one adapted to drain the lingual and the other the buccal portion of the mouth and connected at their rear ends,

each of said membersbeing provided with a saliva intake opening, and an eduction tube adapted to be connected to the front end of either of the members to adapt the, mouth piece for use in either the right orthe left side of the mouth, substantially as described.

3. A mouth piece for saliva ejecting ap- )aratus com )risin a suction tube havin I e s e two members, one adapted to drain the lii1-' gual and the other the buccal portion of the mouth and each provided with a saliva intake opening, connections between the rear ends of said members, and an eduction tube connected with the front end of one member only and olfset in a direction away from the other member, substantially as described.

at. A mouth piece for saliva ejecting apparatus comprising a suction tube adapted to enter the mouth of the user and provided with a saliva intake opening, an eduction tube connected with said suction tube, and means carried by the eduction tube and adapted to be clamped beneath the jaw to hold the mouth piece in position, said means A including an angularly adjustable contact 'with a saliva intake opening, an eduction tube connected with the suction tube, a clamp carried by the mouth piece and adapted to engage beneath the jaw to hold the mouth piece in position, and a pivotal connection between the mouth piece and clamp, the engaging faces of said connection being oppositely inclined, substantially as described.

6. Amouth piece for saliva ejecting apparatus comprising an eduction tube, a suction tube connected therewith and adapted to be located in the mouthofa user and provided with a saliva intake opening, means for securing the mouth piece in position, and means carried by the eduction tube for depressing the lower lip of the user, substantially as described. I

7. A mouth piece for saliva ejecting apparatus comprising an eduction tube, a suction tube adapted to enter the mouth of a user and provided vvlth a saliva lntake openmg, means for securing the mouth piece in position, and a reversible lip depressor mounted upon the eduction tube, substantially-as described.

WILLIAM P. DE lVITT.

Witnesses:

ALFRED H. HILDRETH, BURTON W. CORY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

